Existing motion drives of ships are being built today according to different functional diagrams with different complexity. The simplest diagram is one in which working part of the ship, screw-propeller, is actuated to rotation by means of energy of internal combustion engine and stiff kinematic transmission.
In another relatively simple functional diagrams of motion drive the screw-propeller is actuated to rotation by the energy of electric motor supplied from on-board batteries.
In more complicated functional diagrams the machine cascades (i.e. Diesel-electrogenerator and different power installations such as steam-turbine, gas-turbine, water-turbine, nuclear and others and also their combinations) are used as energy sources.
In the past certain countries conducted research and development aimed to find and employ new, effective principles (other than using screw-propeller) of ship's motion drive.
For example, "Bell-Aerospace" Company (USA) built large tonnage hovership for the Navy [B.1, page 221].
______________________________________ Main specification of the ship: ______________________________________ weight 2000 ton, speed 150 kmph/94 mph, designation ship-hunter for submarines. ______________________________________
"Boeing" Concern (USA) has built a ship "Jetfoil" actuated by reactive water power installation. The distinction between such power installation and power installation of ordinary ship with screw-propeller is of the same nature as the distinction between reactive air liner and ordinary propeller airplane [B.1, page 217].
______________________________________ Main specifications of the ship: ______________________________________ weight 106 ton, length 27.5 m/88 ft, speed 90 kmph/56 mph, designation conveyance of 250 passengers. ______________________________________
In the USSR, on Caspian Sea, the gigantic hybrid of airplane and ship named "Caspian monster", actuated by 9 gas turbines, has been tested for several years [B.2, page 35].
______________________________________ Main specifications of the ship: ______________________________________ weight 500 ton, length 61 m/196 ft, speed 500 kmph/32 mph, designation guided-missile ship ______________________________________
However the indicated motion drives of existing ships have a number of disadvantages, restraining their wide spread, such as:
complexity of functional diagrams of motion drives and their control, PA1 low profitability and efficiency, PA1 large "dead" weight, high installed power of energy conversion units and their cost, PA1 presence of mobile working parts, and others. PA1 simultaneous employment of one or series of different energy sources for the movement, PA1 elimination of mobile working parts from propulsion installation and achievement of its specific compactness, PA1 essential increase of efficiency due to a direct conversion of electric energy into mechanical energy of movement, PA1 reliability and longevity, PA1 effectiveness, flexibility and simplicity of control. PA1 power installation is combined with low-to-high voltage converters allowing to regulate output voltage level, by the distributor of charging current and by bank of groups of capacitors; PA1 propulsion installation is designed as one or a number of hollow, open at one side working cylinders, mounted in the back part of a ship along its longitudinal axis below the waterline. Each of these working cylinders contains controlled valves and electrodes. These electrodes are placed in such position which allows to form certain distance between their ends inside of each cylinder. This distance is a working clearance through which occur high voltage and power discharges, distributed by the distributor of discharge pulses which is included in propulsion installation. Level, number and frequency of these discharges and required power of the installation are controlled and selected according to the required speed and acceleration of the ship. These discharges occur in the aqueous medium of working cylinders and create reactive forces for movement of the ship during the electrohydraulic phenomenon; PA1 control system contains computer, executive devices, measuring converters, transducers and isolation circuits, provides programmable synchronous operation and checking of all system devices and modes of the drive, and controls sequence and order of charges and discharges of capacitors placed in groups by the controlled commutation of the distributor of charging current and distributor of discharge pulses, according to the required characteristics of the drive's operation; PA1 energy sources are connected to the inputs of converters. These converters jointly with the distributor of charging current, bank of groups of capacitors, distributor of discharge pulses and electrodes of working cylinders, form a series functional circuit; PA1 control system has bi-directional control bus for control and checking of all the named above devices of the drive.
The described in this patent application motion drive of a ship solves a number of problems. This is reflected in presented objects of the invention.